


Like Diamonds

by Nobodyhasblindedme



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kinda, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mild Smut, Omegaverse, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 20:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8070979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nobodyhasblindedme/pseuds/Nobodyhasblindedme
Summary: Overall, Marco was quite happy with how life had turned out for him. He had a mate and the territory they shared all to themselves after the hardships they'd endured. It might have gotten a little lonely sometimes in the dead of winter in the high mountain valley with no-one else around BUT his mate to pass the days with but they were free. And left alone. And Marco was happy. Evidently, the Fates were not. Not yet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo....this. All of you giving me the stink-eye out there for starting something new, ya ya, I know. But, the fact of the matter is, I love omegaverse. And I love Erejeanmarco, more then I thought I would given that erejean isn't a big ship for me. I'll attempt to keep this fic short and actually work on updating within a good amount of time, rather then let it sit without update for months, as I am want to do, I promise. 
> 
> There's probably not going to be a lot of smut in this, and the most there is will probably be implied. There may, however, be mpreg. Maybe.

Marco glared up at the sky and quietly contemplated his luck. While it had never been completely terrible or completely amazing, no more or less then anyone else's, it did seem the forces of fortune were not with him this hour. Much to the alpha's chagrin. 

He gave the air around him a cursory sniff, not that it did much good. At the height of summertide, it had been a stifling three week drought now. The sky clearer then spring water and as dry as the tetted hay in the fields back home. The wind currents around him were nonexistent, carrying no scent but the dusty ground beneath his boots and the staleness of his own sweat. Marco ground his jaw, forcing himself not to spit in frustration out of habit and waste what little fluid his body had left. At least he wasn't hunting out in the blaze of direct sunlight today - not that the dappled shadows of the deep great forest did much to ward off the heavy heat, but he'd take what he could. Letting his gaze fall from the high canopy above him, the alpha sighed, and once more determinatly picked up the visual trail he'd encountered. 

If the hunter had to choose anything to appreciate about the sun season, it was that hunting was good. As the days grew longer, prey moved into the highlands to graze and seek more comfortable climates in the wooded hills. one could usually count on at least a fair rabbit or gamebird every-other day for supper, if you had your wits about you. Marco was no idiot, and despite his relative mass, deceptively fast when shove came to bite. He was an alpha after all. There was just...one problem though. 

This trail was not a rabbit's. Or a deer's. Or of any kind of prey he'd seen around these parts before now. Squinting at the riled leaves and earth, Marco ran a finger over the edge of the disturbed patch - one of a hundred he'd followed with sight alone with little problem up until now. The scuffed ground itself wasn't what concerned the alpha, he ran into dozens of trails in his hunting, leading this way and that, meandering all through the trees and over the creeks and clearings.

It was why THESE kinds of tracks were here though. Marco growled lowly, the sound lost to the noisy summer woods around him. 

Boot marks. The prints were made by someone's footfalls, and they sure as hell weren't his. He hadn't been his way in a week, and even if the rains refused to come just yet, leaving the soil powder-dry and undisturbed, these were still far too fresh. Concentrating hard and closing his eyes, leaning as far over as he could, the alpha gave a hesitant scenting. 

Ah yeah, definitely new marks. The loamy odor of leather worked with foreign, harsh City-made chemicals was easy to pick up on. His growl grew louder. 

He thought of the one waiting back at the cabin he called den. The life they'd built together, away from the sting of rejection and mockery. Of a peace, so long sought and hard won, shattered without a thought or care by an intruder so impudent as to waltz through their territory as if they belonged here. As he and his mate did. 

Marco was not a violent man, or even an overly assertive alpha. He preferred people work out their disputes between themselves and away from he and his love, only stepping in if nothing else was to be done...but this blatant disregard could not go unchecked. If those - those vultures thought they could come back here and disgrace them once again and defile this land with their presence, then Marco would indeed step in. With pleasure. 

Glancing up from the track, the hunter let his gaze wander forward, observing with interest the broken twigs and crushed grasses leading off even deeper into the woods. A series of lines practically painted in bright red screaming 'come find me please!'. 

The grin that spread across his face was wide as it was vicious.

\----

The sun had crept just past the midday mark when Marco's mystery trail changed. There were fewer trees in the area the alpha had come to, but the ground had lost it's smooth incline of the valley land, now transitioning into the small, choppy foothills of the distant mountains. The huntsman observed the tracks with a new light. 

They had been muted before, just indentations in the scrubbed-up soil to indicate someone had put their foot down, but now with the sharply angled hills, it seemed whoever was making the trail was perhaps not all well. The boot marks were scraping and long, like the person was dragging their feet and stumbling every few steps. There was more broken underbrush about them, the mystery person evidently loosing interest in trying not to leave a trail to follow (not that they had been succeeding in the first place). Marco leaned over to sniff the deeper tracks again - and again, something else changed.

Warmth spread through the alpha's throat, tickling at his tongue and soft pallet. Something mellow and deep...and so familiar but words escaped him. Marco frowned at it, a thought just niggling at the back of his head, when he heard the crashing of branches and undergrowth.

Tensing at the sudden, loud noise so unexpected the alpha snarled and crouched low, lips pulled back over sharp white teeth. More various shuffling and rustling noises sounded out, what could have been the crack of fallen tree branches breaking under foot, though he couldn't be sure what direction it had come from. A tremor of aggression seeped down the alpha's spine as he listened to the sounds ringing out clear like a blacksmith's anvil over the calm summer woods. The loudest of it echoed off the hillsides, making it more difficult to pin-point the exact location of the culprit.

Marco's ears then proverbially perked when a voice suddenly came. It was hoarse, and whining, crying out unintelligibly but it was clear enough for the agitated alpha. 

Marco charged straight a head with a war cry choked in his throat, hands curling into claws, ready to face whoever had some to disturb he and his mate's peace. If it was one of Them, he would most certainly kill them - the agreement had never been broken by Marco or his mate, so it would be Their fault. As he ran, the alpha reached behind him, pulling out an arrow and knocking it in his hunting bow. The fine steel arrowhead glinted merrily in the daylight, sharper and faster then the wind it flew on when unleashed. The sight urged Marco on, running faster up the hillside, not caring now that he was making as much noise has his prey even when he was practically upon it. 

Reaching the top of the hill before him, Marco hushed his rumbling, the sounds of struggling becoming louder. Glancing down, he surveyed the slope, looking for the possible disturbance to his domain. 

What he found was so unexpected, Marco could only blink in wonderment for a few good moments. 

It was a man - at least, so the alpha thought. Actually, it was nearly impossible to tell exactly what primary gender the person was by sight alone from this distance. The intruder was at the bottom of the tall hill, and he at the top after all. They were dressed in robes, the silvery-blue material so fine and silky it reflected the sunlight almost metallicly, like the arrowhead to the weapon the alpha still had drawn. Almost immediately, Marco's guard was dropped, the snarl stuttering to close in his throat and fists loosening as he observed this odd phenomenon. Creeping a little ways down, he looked closer, raising his nose to the air to see if he could catch anything. 

Not much. The air was still so damn dry, even further into the hills as he was. There was something though, that something from before wen he had sniffed the tracks permeating the air just by order of proximity, the tugging sensation in Marco's gut even worse now because he knew it. It was so familiar-!

The stranger hadn't heard him move, obviously, as they continued on their way, a very peculiar thing of itself. Marco saw as they staggered, tripped and fell, cursing but too lowly for the alpha to pick up anything. When they regained footing and moved on, it was almost like they were drunk...or very ill, limbs moving all out of sync, head lolling forward with every step. The unsteadiness to their gait must have been what had caused the untidy trail that had lead Marco here, he mused. 

Without even taking another ten strides, the person unbalanced and fell over again. For a few moments, it appeared it was now a struggle to even get up. However, after some attempts, they did manage to roll over onto their back, and Marco hurriedly crouched low in the brush when they tossed their head his way. 

Once more, Marco wasn't immediately certain it was male, just by looking at them. The face so thin and pale, the long swan neck accentuated with a heavy-looking silver band and a plethora of smaller chains and finery. However, the groans that issued from that throat were growled - far too low a timbre for any female, even an alpha one. 

His hair - yes, Marco was fairly certain 'they' were a 'he' now, inching ever forward from his hiding place at a snail's pace - was cut in the strangest of styles the alpha had ever seen. It was like the barber had started to shave the head from the bottom up, but had. abandoned it half-way done. The color was difficult to discern as covered in dust and twigs and messy as it was, but perhaps a sandy buckskin blonde?

In any case, the man looked very tired, and was whining painfully to himself. 

Marco's soft footfalls stopped just short of fifty feet from the man, still crouched. Had he been in a fit state, the hunter supposed the man would have taken notice of him quite easily - the alpha never made any attempts to control or cover his scent, and he was no small being for all his stealth. In fact is was rather concerning that the man hadn't discovered Marco yet. 

The stranger wasn't in a good way though, was he? Stumbling about in the woods in the middle of a summer's day clad in such heavy robes and clearly out of his element. The nearest trader roads were dozens of miles away, the nearest being a half-day's ride by swift horse, so he must have been walking about the wilderness for hours, at least. It was...well, it was bizarre. 

The alpha didn't have much longer to contemplate this train of thought as a long, drawling cry suddenly burst forth from the man before him. Hiccuped and choked, it slithered from the mouth of the stranger and echoed unnaturally about the space, the sound hanging in the air for longer then it should have. 

It started deep in Marco's gut, shuddering out and flaring like a fire suddenly stoked. The alpha gasped as that cry continued, feeling every hair on his body stand on end in ways he'd only ever had happened to him the day he Presented. 

Omega.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is a beta's growl as bad as his bite? Eren is not so pleased with what Marco has found in the woods, situation be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so freaking long!!! Well, actually it's only been three months. But that's long for me! I was hoping this would be a quick write as I have the story in my head, but damn, if getting it out just how I want it isn't a fight - and these words do fight me. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and...I can't make any promises for the next one, only that I'm not letting it go! Thank you!

Eren had come to learn to expect the unexpected in life, from his kidnapping and subsequent forced servitude under the vile nobility of the Three Cities, to his near-untimely death falling in a river which carried him away from the marching troops and into the arms of his savior and would-be mate. Yeah, life tended to blindside even the most prepared on principle.

Even so, this was more then a little unanticipated.

Marco had been, in a word, distraught. The beta was just coming in from the hay fields ready for a wash and some lunch when his alpha, the man who was supposed to be out hunting for their supper, had come rushing out of the woods like the host of Helheim were snapping at his heals. As soon as he'd spotted Eren, frozen in surprise, he'd rushed forward and grabbed the smaller man about the shoulders, babbling about tracks and trespassers and omegas. It took Eren a moment with the confusion still running rampant, but when he smelled it, it was plain as day. 

There was _someone else_ decorating his mate's scent. Someone honey-sweet and rich and...fertile with the height of summer, the heat of the day mingling with a heat that had nothing to do with the sun yet all to do with the season...

Suddenly Marco's shouting made a whole lot more sense. And made Eren a whole lot more upset. 

Needless to say, Eren's sudden outburst of who and what and more importantly, _how_ , did little to calm the poor alpha, nearly spooked out of his own skin in his own territory. There may have been some yelling involved.

Maybe a lot of yelling.

Probably all yelling. 

Well shit, it wasn't like Eren didn't have a right. This was his home too, as much as it was Marco's, and to see it so blatantly trespassed, those careful boundaries disrespected by - by some foreign freaky _omega_ , who, as his alpha explained again and again, quite literally stumbled onto the territory was...more then enough to drive Eren a bit up a wall. 

And maybe to initially refuse Marco's pleas to help him. 

He wasn't used to arguing with his mate - they were usually fairly agreeable with most subjects pertaining to anything of major importance in their lives, and considering their lives really only consisted of just each other...well, one would sooner see cats rain from the sky before Eren disagreed with just the concept of 'Marco.' 

But this was not Marco. 

This was some random-ass omega in heat that showed up out of nowhere unannounced and with out any indication of where it - he - had come from. Eren growled and hissed. Marco whined and stared after him in confusion as Eren spat on the ground to clear the heady, _not himself_ scent from his mouth when he so much as took a breath around the alpha. That was another thing about omegas - they fucking... clung to you. "Eren, please dearest - "

"Stick your head in the cow pond, why don't you," snarled the bristling beta as he marched off in the opposite direction. Well, not really, as technically any direction was the opposite direction when you were standing in the middle of a field and the person you wanted to go in the opposite direction of was following after you. 

He wasn't sure if it was an alpha thing or a Marco thing or where those two blurred together, but he was being particularly persistent. "Eren, he's heatsick, and if we don't help him, there's no-one else who will. Or can! He's alone, totally alone." 

Eren had a feeling Marco might have tacked on that last bit just for him. Not that it eased any of the discomfort of smelling an unknown person on one's mate. Eren still didn't look back as he tromped up the wooden steps of their home, his boots loud across the porch and through the house, even over the few carpets they'd laid out. The beta wasn't even sure where he was going, only aware all the time of the alpha shadowing him.

"Look, this is a hard pill to swallow for you, I understand - "

"You don't," snapped Eren, moving to one corner of the small cabin and beginning to fuss about with some laundry that hadn't been folded yet. He'd planned to do it this evening when the alpha got back...

"Then at least I know where this is coming from," Marco said, voice growing a little more firm for the first time since the argument had begun. "You can't use that sort of argument here. He's _sick_ Eren. Not acting, not drugged - and why would he be? We live nowhere, no-one should know we're here. And, for that matter, why would they really care?" 

"Because they hate us."

"They don't know we exist!" Marco finally breaks, throwing his hands open and staring at Eren incredulously. The beta had stilled his needless fussing with the clothes, though still refusing to look back at the alpha. It wasn't true silence that reigned in the cabin, what with their breathing and the ambient sounds of summer, and slight breeze flipping the curtains on the open windows and the cicadas screaming in the fields, but it was...awkward. Eren felt like his tongue had swollen in his mouth, teeth clenched in a dam against words he thought he'd never want to say to the man behind him. His eyes traced a patch on one of the alpha's shirts in the pile. Some of the stitches were coming loose.

The floorboards creaked behind him as Marco huffed out a frustrated...disappointed breath, and Eren's teeth ached. "Fine. That's - fine. Okay. You won't help me."

Eren turned sharply to watch as the alpha tromped out of the cabin, not even bothering to close the door as he left on his little mission. Eren stood watching the other go, still holding the shirt like an idiot and listening to the sudden ringing silence that always came after an argument. Especially one with his mate. The door creaked as the wind continued to blew in, papers of a book Marco had left on the kitchen table taking it up like little sails on ships, the sound of trees in the distance rustling and humming along. It was still bright, and hot outside and would be for another few hours - the night not much better, even without the threat of burning and heat exhaustion. Eren himself had been coming in for a drink when Marco had come running back, the animals either under the shade of their lean-tos or trees in the pastures..

Eren threw down the clothing with a hissed curse, and ran back outside, grabbing up his knife and a spare empty water skin as he went.

\----

The omega was delirious. Even Eren could see that with the way the man laid sprawled awkwardly on the stones of the empty creek-bed. He must have instinctively sought out the shade of the tall bank and the coolness of the shadowed, flat stones under the embankment. Marco dashed forward, snatching a canteen from Eren's hand. 

"Marco, wait!" Eren throws out a hand, catching Marco by the arm and pulling. Marco spins a bit, almost clotheslined by the sudden force of his mate's grab, looking lost and somewhat annoyed by Eren's continued hesitance towards the stranger who so clearly needed their help. "Don't..." Eren pauses, not...quite sure what he was going to say in the first place. Don't do it? Don't get any closer? _Don't let him fool you?_ "Just - just, you be careful." 

Marco raises an eyebrow and glances down to Eren's dirk, and his own skinning knife. Eren purses his lips in response, but allows Marco to pull away from him and approach the omega. 

The alpha crouches near, but not quite so close he'd be in striking range. Good...He stills again, and waits for the man to react. Eren's not sure why - as deep in the stupor as the omega seems, not to mention the threat of having passed out from overheating, the man doesn't react in any way. Marco shifts closer, and a bit closer still, looking stressed but hopeful. Again, not much more then a tiny, barely noticeable turn of the omega's head in Marco's direction. Probably instinctual again, the heat sickness forcing him to react to any scent as a threat. That was the trouble with that sort of fever, if it wasn't aided by medicine or...ah...assisted by another willing person, it got bad enough the omega in question's body turned on them, treating everything as if it were deadly foe in their weakened state. Eren felt himself grow...looser, at the scent. Yes, it was slowly turning from solicitous to defensive, but if anything, it made Eren want to come nearer as well, to calm and reassure...

The beta grit his teeth and sucked a breath in harshly through them. Marco was moving to get close enough to touch, and Eren had to focus, dammit! "You're alright...we're here to help.." Marco was speaking to the omega in low, soothing tones. The timbre of his voice had changed - and Eren knew it well enough to know why and how. The scent that had been steadily coating his mouth and nose since first smelling it on his mate, drawing him in and asking for his mercy and kindness now made his hiss and spit, licking his clenched teeth. Fucking omega scents..he could tell Marco was more affected then him, of course, leaning over the stranger and moving to hesitantly touch, try and tilt his head up to get some water into him. Almost reverent in his movements, head full of the full power of that cloying trap.

The omega didn't really react, hands twitching like they might have wanted to come up to fend off - or maybe, draw in - the person touching him, but his arms lacking the strength and coordination to follow through. Marco spoke again, calling out, not to assure or sooth as it was clear the omega wasn't even awake, but to try and bring him back to that state, even just a little. Yes, it wouldn't do to have the person choke on water or anything...

Eren blinks, however, when if by some miracle, the stranger _does_ respond. A little. From his mouth as his head is tilted up, issues a short, painful sounding whine. A cough, his legs and arms drawing in like he wants to curl up and -

he opens his eyes. Just barely a crack, and in the failing like of day, hidden behind trees and the hills, Eren can see amber gold, dull with deliriousness and fever. Eren doesn't know what makes him do it, but as those eyes move, darting about but unable to focus on anything, the beta finds himself unable to stand the thought of them landing on him. Of knowing he is here. He's /seen/ eyes like those before, bright and vicious, like the eye of some great wolf it's teeth an inch from your throat.

Eren fears those eyes.

Marco however, shies away at nothing, invigorated and pleased with the response, and if he notices his mate's sudden stillness, the quivering of his fingers above his knife, he does not care to look up.

"Here! Steady now, you're sick. We won't hurt you." He reiterates, now that there's a possibility of the omega actually hearing him, though Eren has his doubts about whether he can comprehend what's being said. "We have water. Careful..."

Marco tries to get the omega to sit up, and...he sort of succeeds, managing so he's bracing the man in a way he won't drown himself if they help. If _Marco_ helps. And he does, though it's slow going. The alpha brings the canteen up to the omega's mouth, and tilts, seeing if the man can drink on his own, and after a few tries where the water just dribbles uselessly over the cracked lips, the omega jerks, coughs, and swallows a few times. This seems to be well enough, as it doesn't take long before he's managing actual mouthfuls. It looks like it's hard work though, as the time between the sips and the man's eyes rolling shut like he's passed out again grows longer. He's not just trying to move either - the omega keeps trying to speak, cracked voice eeking out and sounding terrible. Marco is anxious, tutting and cooing, trying to keep the man awake, but it's losing battle. Finally, as the omega has gone through half a canteen of water and begins to clearly slump again, Marco asks quickly,

"Ah, wait! You - you can sleep soon, but - what's your name? What do we call you?"

Eren wrinkles his nose. It's clear the omega can't understand -

"Jaw..."

"What?" Marco is leaning over him closely, listening with every bone in his body it would seem and Eren goes still. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Marco says hurriedly, hoping to catch the last bit of consciousness from the stranger. Eren feels a sweat that shouldn't be there line his brow and slick his hands as he too waits for the omega's response. Please, please no...Those fucking eyes flash open in full glory for one more second, and with a dry mouth and a failing mind, the stranger somehow speaks,

"Jea..n..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets kept from willing ears and harsh words exchanged at midnight are never pleasant. Even less so in front of a total stranger. Even if that stranger's unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter!! WOOO! Uh...so, I do have to say before anything, I'm.. nervous about this chapter. I feel like I may be repeating things into redundancy, but I tried to make it as interesting as possible! Also, I know in a comment I said I would do Jean's perspective, but for this chapter at least, a return to Marco's view fit a little better. I can say for certainty, however, we'll get a piece of Jean's mind next time! Thank you for reading!!

Marco watched Eren poke at the fire, his face unreadable in the darkness and the quavering light. They'd only gotten the one word from the omega sleeping a little ways off, but already Eren had shuttered himself inside, windows barred and doors locked fast. Marco hated when he got like this. It had been far worse when they first became mates, of course. Eren had seen...and done a lot of things that he'd barely hinted at, and then shoved into some shadowed corner of his mind and left to rot. Marco knew, however, that something like that didn't just go away because you stopped thinking about it. Rot had a nasty tendency to spread...

They were working on it.

"So," Marco tries after a long while, and he wants to wince with how his voice is too loud and foreign in the silence, "He said his name was Jean." At least...it was.. _a_ name. "That's uh...interesting."

When Eren didn't move, gave no notice that he'd even heard Marco speak, the alpha wanted to reach forward and shake him. Grasp the beta's shoulders and jar him out of whatever was keeping him in this mire of empty eyes and bitterness. He didn't though, didn't move beyond a worried breath and glancing over his shoulder when the omega - er, Jean(?) - mumbled unintelligibly in his fever and twitched. It was a bad thing to experience, even from this side of things, an omega heatsick. Probably just regular sick as well, with how quickly the...alright, the _enticing_ scent of heat had soured, beyond simple omegan defenses. What Marco really wanted to do was get Jean back to their home, so he didn't have to lie on the ground and be bitten to death by insects or be at the mercy of anything else that prowled the hills at night, but...Eren was still locked away somewhere, and maybe suggesting a move would bring him out of it, but it would also distress the beta who already didn't like the omega.

"It's a City name."

The alpha's head swung back to his mate abruptly. The words were uttered so softly and just below the volume of the crackling fire, that at first Marco thought he must have imagined them, from wanting to hear something so badly. But no, Eren was looking up, stopping his idle prodding of the logs to stare off somewhere else. At least his eyes appeared more focused now.

"It's - what?" Marco asked, turning fully to face his mate.

Eren's shoulders half shrugged, the motion looking more like a twitch then anything. "A City name. I knew a few others with the same name while I was...I-I mean, it's just not a name that people use much elsewhere."

Marco nodded at the words, though it felt more mechanical, like he was just doing so to provide some form of confirmation that he'd heard what had been said. Well...that made...sense, didn't it? The clothing and jewellery, the hair, the long, fair features. Though the oddity of Jean's presence here in the first place still needed questioning plenty, there was one part of the mystery solved.

Two actually, if Eren's attitude was another. Marco watched the beta, felt the muddy quality of emotions through the bond and all the little complexities that lay beyond simple thought. Of scents and their slight, tiny inconsistencies. Being mates brought this sort of thing, this hyper-awareness where all the rest of the world was blocked out, and they become your guiding light. Its why it was best not to rush into courtship and real mating. His parents had always impressed upon him..

"How long will he be like this, d'you think?" Eren tilted his head to peer over Marco's shoulder at the slumped form beyond, but Marco can see and feel the lack of real concern. The words are only filling empty air, or seeking an answer to the unasked question, _'how long until we can be rid of the intruder.'_

Marco isn't sure why exactly this reaction in his mate...hurts so. The alpha in him tutting like a mother hen over a lost omega, or just his own sympathy for a person who would be in a bad situation without their help, but, despite Eren's reaction being not unexpected, it still left a souring taste in his mouth. The alpha can only raise his eyebrows and shrug a little. "Not sure. We have to wait out his heat, so...few days? If it goes on for much longer than that...we may need to seek...help." Marco sends the beta a loaded look. Eren hissed lowly and turned back to the fire, moody. At least it was better then the emptiness of before. Barely.

"He'll be needing somewhere to stay for a while anyway, after he wakes up." Might as well get it out of the way right now. Eren jerks his head up to stare at his alpha. Er - glare.

"No."

"Eren-"

"I won't share space with him!"

"Then what do you propose we _do_ with him, then?" Marco found himself barking, the words unexpected and harsh. And loud. A rustle overhead and it appeared a small flock of bats had been startled by the alpha's cry suddenly fluttering and squeaking by. Even Eren's eyes widened from their glower and glanced surreptitiously to Jean. No movement, of course. Huh, the alpha almost felt envious of such a removal from reality...

Marco swallowed and closed his eyes, collecting himself. He knew Eren was watching him now though, and for all the love in the world, Marco wished he knew how to spin what needed to be said better. Unfortunately, his simple words born of a life and predisposition of practicality are all he has. _Ogma of the silver-tongue give him strength..._

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Eren...look. He's alone. If he was bait for something they would have attacked by now and we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation. He's in heat, and sick enough he can't care for himself. If we can just get him back home - for the time being - he can get his bearings when he wakes up and we can assist him in getting back to...wherever it is he came from as quickly as to your heart's content. If we leave him out here, however...he's good as dead." Marco's voice was steady as he chose his words, imploring. 

"You're no murderer, Eren." 

And, there it was. Eren's eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth at the fire. All the better he did, Marco supposed, he wasn't sure with how much of everything that was happening he could hold onto his cool. The scent like honeyed whiskey, distress and ailment from the omega was bad enough, making him twitchy and eyeing every little shadow that flickered beyond the circle of light, but his bond with Eren was pulsing it's ever-constant presence at the back of his head, in his throat where his bond bite itched. Honestly, Marco was sort of impressed with himself for managing to keep from snapping this long. It wasn't even that there was an omega in heat not ten feet from him, and he was a young...er...capable alpha who had a beta and something animal in the back of his head, with long claws and a feral grin was whispering of a stronger group to be had. A Pack to be made.

He'd only ever seen Eren like this once before. And it scared him to think they might be hurtling towards that Hell's teeth precipice again, not daring to imagine what would happen should he fall off.

Marco knew he was getting lost to his thoughts while he stared at Eren, and the beta hadn't said anything more, for or against the idea, sullen in his silence and their link feted with a proverbial cold shoulder. Marco...didn't want to say he'd won. 'Winning' would imply they'd been competing for something, namely, the current and soon-to-be future fate of Jean, who at the moment had no say in anything. Any way it was spun left Marco feeling like he'd gargled cow piss, really. Fighting with Eren went against everything that had been his life for what felt like ages, and treating the omega like he was a sack of flour to be bartered for, flung about to anyone's liking...

Eren wasn't saying no anymore, however.

"Eren," Marco called softly to him, eyebrows quirking in stressed lines, and it only worsened as the beta actually turned his head away so he wouldn't even be able to see the alpha in the corners of his eyes. Utter refusal steady as stone in their bond. Marco implored him now, leaning forward, hand raised in askance, but not daring to touch, wanting whatever this is to pass as badly as he had a feeling the beta did too. No-one liked feeling threatened in their own home.

"Please Eren...what's wrong? Can't you tell me love?"

It must be his voice, or the tense quiet of the moment encircled by the ring of light from the fire where all else, even the source of their sudden strife, is obscured. Eren tilted his head, just a fraction, back at the alpha. Almost like he was listening for more. Considering. Claws scraped against cloth as Eren's grip on himself tightened, and Marco held his own breath as the beta took one, ready for the outpouring of whatever it is that had risen to the surface of the mire within.

Or not.

It's Jean. Marco had tried to comfort as much as he felt he could (or should, given the situation) but lost as he was in the throes of a sour heat, the omega's fevered sleep had been fitful. There was a loud gasp of breath from the stranger, the omega tossing on the bedroll and breathing heavily for a moment, as if he'd run a long distance or was frightened of something neither Marco nor Eren could see. It was only a few seconds before he quieted again, sides moving slowly, if irregularly. Silence again.

It was enough to shatter Marco from his beta, though.

Eren blinked as his eyes followed the sudden noise, and the open vulnerability he'd allowed to creep out was tucked neatly away again, with even a little shake of the head as if he was scolding himself for even considering allowing it out. Marco wondered now, if it was fair to blame the poor omega for his sudden anger. Eren seemed not to care either way, and without a word, threw himself to his feet, tossed the twig into the fire being sure to scoop up his knife as he went. Marco jerked like his brain was going to make him stand as well, follow after into the shadows of the nighttime that swallowed any trace of his mate within seconds...but the same force that had lashed his back that afternoon to fetch Eren's presence and assistance now tied his legs and knotted his stomach. Clenched his jaw when he should be calling out to the beta leaving Marco unsure of what to feel for long moments after Eren's form and footsteps were gone.

Again, it's Jean. Marco didn't want to let his eyes stray again from where Eren had run off to - sometimes the beta took lonely walks in the woods, and Marco never questioned where he went, nor sought out his trails, so the beta could have gone anywhere - but he cannot help what his body is already doing.

Marco had only seen a bad heat twice - and it was in passing anyway, just a bit of daily news. Never this close. Never with someone he knew nothing about, and...aside from the human decency within him, cared anything for.

That being said, Jean looked terrible. If Marco's nose and throat and the softness that had wreathed his head when he'd gotten close enough to touch a few hours ago hadn't told him better, he might have just said the omega was simply sick. The combination of night and ruddy light of the fire made Jean's skin glow wanly, highlighting the slight sheen of sweat at his temples. They'd taken off the heavy outer robe the omega wore, and the layer under that lest the poor bastard overheat with his own illness, and even then it still seemed the thinner tunic was made of fabrics too fine to handle summers outdoors.

Marco wondered at that. Wondered at a lot of things about the man before him, moreso even than what had could have brought him here.

While Marco realized the practicality and necessity of removing the excessive clothing, Eren's pervasive attitude towards this whole thing made him hesitant to relieve the omega of much more of his fabric wealth. The earrings and finery dangling in tiny-linked chains from the lobe to cartilage of his ears stayed, as did the silver vine-like necklaces. Marco could only hope they wouldn't catch on something in the middle of the night with Jean's tossing, and strangle him. Marco's attention was drawn for long seconds to that....that collar. What else could it possibly be, the solid, thick band of (again) silver, engraved with symbols that jog something in Marco memory, but he couldn't place his finger on exactly what. It came to a full, immovable circle at the front of his neck, a dragon's head swallowing it's own tail, crafted by hands who knew their trade near too well. It's metal eyes and snarling face followed wherever you went...

It just goes on from there, really. Little gems, some so tiny they are no bigger than a grain of sand embedded into the ornaments, and if the weight and shimmer of the overcoat had been anything to go by, there was gilded thread woven into the cloth.

This omega, this Jean whoever-he-was, was as alien to these lands and their residence as a crocus at Yuletime.

Marco took a deep breath to try and clear his head, tilting it back to look at the moon dappling in through the shifting foliage above. This felt like there were too many layers to deal with properly right now - and certainly not in one night. They - well - _Marco_ had a plan. Get Jean back to their home and make sure he rides out the rest of his sickness safely if possible. Marco closed his eyes and tried not to think about the worrisome, if small, possibility they might have been too late and they'd have to deal with a death on their hands.

Marco didn't allow the thought to take root. All signs pointed to, and had been confirmed thanks to Eren, to the fact that Jean was from one of the great City-kingdoms. His health was probably better by the sheer fact he'd probably grown up without hard labor and no shortages of food as a child. And it was just an unchecked heat, no omega had ever died from discomfort. The fever though...

Well. It was really all conjecture, anyway. The only thing Marco knew for certain was that he didn't know a damn thing, aside from the stranger's name. Probably his name...

The alpha bit his lip against curses at himself, rubbing a hand over his face, feeling absolutely beat down. He'd been up since before the sun had broken the horizon and had gone about his day as if he'd already be abed by now...Marco's eyes slipped off to sweep about at the trees and hills, ears open again. He was so used to Eren being right beside him, his breath (and sometimes snores) in his ear and his smaller frame to pull against his own for comfort in sleep. _Eren's_ scent of dusty hay and fresh greenery in late spring, the one surrounding him and lulling him into dreams.

As it was, the ground was uneven and little twigs and roots and rocks poked at his back under his own bedroll. For all Marco knew, Eren had just up and gone back to the cabin for the night, washing his hands of it and leaving any dealing with Jean to his alpha. Marco almost wanted to smile at that, had anxiety about his mate's attitude and nerves not been eating at his stomach. No matter the issue, Eren's bullheadedness would never change.

Marco lay back anyway after making sure the fire would not leave its bounds, though he didn't plan on sleeping. For a while at least. Too much happening, both within his head, and without.

The forest around them was alive, owls and nightbirds calling to each other, crickets and small peeper frogs filling the space with a soothing low cacophony. As Marco lay trying to spot the stars high above between branches and leaves, keeping an ear out for animals that may venture too close for comfort (and his own mate's return, if he did) he found his own eyelids heavier and heavier with each passing breath. The very slight chill and darkness of night was kept off with the helpful flames. The events of the day-gone-by suddenly creeping up on him and laying like a blanket over his shoulders, whether he was uncomfortable or not.

It seemed sleep was more forthcoming than he'd anticipated.


End file.
